An oil and gas tycoon who directly funded Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng’s re-election bid has seen the share price of his company soar amid the energy crisis.
Shares in Majid Jafar's UAE-listed Dana Gas have increased by more than 77% in the last year while consumers have been struggling to pay the bills.
Ahead of the 2019 election, he donated £4,000 to Mr Kwarteng, a fellow Old Etonian, to campaign in his leafy Surrey constituency.
In total, Mr Jafar, chief executive of Crescent Petroleum which is the main founder and largest shareholder in Dana Gas, has donated more than £500,000 to the Conservatives.
The party has accepted £424,000 from individuals and companies associated with the oil and gas industry in 2021 alone - despite Boris Johnson ’s pledges to cut down on fossil fuels.
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Energy bills are expected to soar this winter with a worldwide squeeze on gas and energy supplies after a cold winter in Europe last year and increased demand from Asia.
About 15m households saw their energy bills rise by 12% last month because of a rise in the energy price cap, with the next increase expected in April.
More than 20 domestic suppliers have gone bust while heavily energy reliant industries have warned they are on the brink as historic gas market highs continue to rip through the market.
Mr Kwarteng is in charge of both wholesale and retail oil and gas markets.
Labour's Shadow energy minister Alan Whitehead said: “Kwasi Kwarteng was warned 18 months ago of risks in the energy sector, just after he’d been re-elected thanks to a big oil and gas donor.
“The Government that got us into this mess because of a decade of inaction is now paralysed by the scale of the crisis and cannot get us out of it.
“And it is working families who are now paying the price of the Tory energy crisis.”
But a spokesman for Mr Kwarteng said: “The Business Secretary is determined to end Britain’s dependency on volatile fossil fuels.
“As the architect of the Energy White Paper and Net Zero Strategy, Mr Kwarteng has developed clear plans to phase out dirty fossil fuels and eradicate the UK’s contribution to climate change.
“Any suggestion Mr Kwarteng is somehow not committed to this agenda is hilariously misguided - no other minister has done more set this country on a path to a low carbon future.”
He added: “Despite relentless lobbying effort from big energy companies, Mr Kwarteng has held firm and insisted the energy price cap remains in place to protect consumers this winter.
“Without the cap, energy companies could charge whatever they want and plunge millions into fuel poverty.”
A spokesperson for Majid Jafar said: "Neither Dana Gas nor Mr Jafar has any investments in the UK or European gas sectors.
"Dana Gas operations are solely in the Middle East (Iraq and Egypt) where the natural gas produced is consumed locally replacing dirtier fuels like diesel, enabling local electricity and development while lowering CO2 emissions."
